Finally took the plunge ... Building my first Sim.

Greetings from New Orleans!

My father and I finally took the plunge and decided to work together on building our first simpit. This is really something we've discussed at length for quite some time, but now we've reached the point of actually getting this thing off the ground.

So first, a little background ...

We're looking to build this thing in a space that is 16ft long by 10ft wide and 8ft high, and we're going for the much desired "180" degree field of view. Most of the hardware we'll be using consists of GoFlight equipment as well as a few custom things we've put together (or will put together).

So first and foremost, we're looking around for projectors, specifically short throw projectors. We're going to be using Matrox's TH2G Digital to connect everything to our backing machine. I imagine using NTHUSIM to warp the three distinct projector images into a continuous one to give the appropriate FOV. (Does this sound right, or am I way off my rocker?)

So ... first and foremost, can anyone give me a suggestion on projectors? I'm really at a loss here.

We were looking at the BenQ MX613ST which fits into our price range (Looking to spend at most $1k/projector). I imagined using this projector in conjunction with an HDMI to DVI-D connector with the TH2G device.

We're going to network more machines into our Sim in order to display some of the gauges in the cockpit vs actually using physical gauges (at least at first).

Anyway, I really appreciate any input you all can provide.

Welcome to the madness!

In both of your posts you never say what type of aircraft you and your father are building. Maybe, you should state what type first, and then others who are building the same can chime in.

You're on the right track for visuals, your spacing will be tight, but doable. You might get 120 degrees, not 180. Do go with DVI to HDMI cables, not just the small adapter.

How are you building your cockpit? Wood, metal, premade aftermarket like flightdecksolutions items or real aircraft fuse? If you're building or buying, you need to research more about the type of aircraft that you'll do. You should know it inside and out. My suggestion, unless you or your father are really good wood or metal craftsmen, you're better off to buy it. Learning as you go takes forever and cost too much in the long run. Yes, some have gone that route, but how long do you want to wait to fly?

It is the same as RC planes. You have kit builds, Almost Ready to Fly (ARF), or Ready to Fly (RTF). Old timers think anything not kit built is a sin to the hobby, but imagine building for a year and the madien flight you crash! Now, take an ARF or RTF, an ARF takes a day or two to put together and RTF in a few hours, but in both cases you're flying really soon.

Thus, in flight simulation, it is the same. You can do your own kit in a sense, get an ARF type setup from companies that do this, or spend a lot of money and get a RTF setup. Really, it all depends on your wallet...

What does this have to do with monitors, software for extra displays or gauges, and other items...well, everything. In kit built sims you have to figure it out, but in ARF & RTF sims, you will know what to get because the company has it all laid on their website. Check out www.flightdecksolutions.com

Happy Building,

BSD

Thanks for the reply! Before I forget, we're building a 747-400 sim.

As for switches, etc, this is something we're going to be building from scratch, but for the rest, we're doing a mixture of all of the above. We're building the actual "exterior" of the simpit ourselves. Right now, the actual materials we're planning to use are up in the air, but I'll definitely solicit some input on that when we've got an idea (I just don't like asking for a solution when I've not really given it thought or research).

What I am kinda struggling over at the moment is the software setup, namely with respect to displays (PFD, etc). I looked into Project Magenta, and quite frankly, it's a bit out of my price range for the time being. My plan here is to eventually upgrade into using it, but in the short term, I'd like to use the standard FSX displays. I've checked out WideView, but I'm not 100% certain it is what I need.

In my current architecture, I'm handling my visuals from one extremely beefed up machine, and I'd like to run my panels from another. I don't use many major add-ons, so the experience I'm looking to get out of this sim is pretty basic (at least to I can convince my wife to let me go further ;) ) Can the WideView product be used to display only gauges from the perspective of a secondary machine (and not outside the aircraft)? If so, this might actually be a solution. I plan on tweaking the default FSX displays to make them a bit bigger and arrange them as necessary to work within the frontal display.


Thanks again for all the advice. It is much appreciated!